Sustainable Investment Case for ESG Integration

Transcription

1 Sustainable Investment Case for ESG Integration RI Asia 2014 Conference Bill McGrew, Portfolio Manager CalPERS Investment Office Global Governance March 5,

2 CalPERS Why Sustainable Investment? We Aim to be a Principled and Effective Investor: To deliver sustainable, riskadjusted returns for more than 1.6 million members and their families. Our Fiduciary Duty: To at all times work in the best interest of our 1.6 million members and their families for every dollar paid in CalPERS pensions, 66 cents comes from investment earnings, so it is vital that we achieve successful returns from our investment strategy. Grounded in Economics: Long-term value creation requires effective management of three forms of capital - financial, physical and human Total Fund Approach: Our total investment portfolio is valued at approximately $284 billion and is diversified across stocks, bonds, real estate, infrastructure, private equity, cash and other investments. 2

3 Sustainable Value Creation Framework Sustainable investment in its simplest form is the ability to continue, and for a long-term investor like CalPERS with long-term liabilities, it is critically important. Long-term value creation requires the effective management of three forms of capital: this is why we are concerned with environmental, social, and governance issues. Physical Capital - Environment Includes managing risk posed by climate change, and the use of natural resources and buildings Financial Capital - Governance To ensure alignment of interest over equity, debt, public and private investments Human Capital - Social Includes health, safety, and labor practices 3

4 The Virtuous Circle of Long-term Value Creation Investor Rights CalPERS is a provider of capital to corporations, external managers, and investment vehicles Regulatory Effectiveness Regulation to protect CalPERS as an investor from externalities, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation Board Quality & Diversity Fiduciaries to CalPERS, such as corporate boards and external managers, are accountable for overseeing the use of our capital Corporate Reporting CalPERS expects fair, accurate, and timely reporting on how financial, human, and physical capital are employed to generate sustainable economic returns Executive Compensation Well-designed compensation programs should be in place to reward and align the users of our capital with CalPERS objective to achieve sustainable, long-term investment returns 4

5 Investment Belief 2 A long time investment horizon is a responsibility and an advantage. Long time horizon requires that CalPERS: Consider the impact of its actions on future generations of members and taxpayers Encourage investee companies and external managers to consider the long-term impact of their actions Favor investment strategies that create long-term, sustainable value and recognize the critical importance of a strong and durable economy in the attainment of funding objectives Advocate for public policies that promote fair, orderly and effectively regulated capital markets 5

6 Investment Belief 2 (continued) A long time investment horizon is a responsibility and an advantage. Long time horizon enables CalPERS to: Invest in illiquid assets, provided an appropriate premium is earned for illiquidity risk Invest in opportunistic strategies, providing liquidity when the market is short of it Take advantage of factors that materialize slowly such as demographic trends Tolerate some volatility in asset values and returns, as long as sufficient liquidity is available 6

7 Investment Belief 4 Long-term value creation requires effective management of three forms of capital: financial, physical and human. Sub-beliefs: Governance is the primary tool to align interests between CalPERS and managers of its capital, including investee companies and external managers Strong governance, along with effective management of environmental and human capital factors, increases the likelihood that companies will perform over the long-term and manage risk effectively 7

8 Investment Belief 4 (continued) Long-term value creation requires effective management of three forms of capital: financial, physical and human. CalPERS may engage investee companies and external managers on their governance and sustainability issues, including: Governance practices, including but not limited to alignment of interests Risk management practices Human capital practices, including but not limited to fair labor practices, health and safety, responsible contracting and diversity Environmental practices, including but not limited to climate change and natural resource availability 8

9 Investment Belief 9 Risk to CalPERS is multi-faceted and not fully captured through measures such as volatility or tracking error. Sub-beliefs: CalPERS shall develop a broad set of investment and actuarial risk measures and clear processes for managing risk The path of returns matters, because highly volatile returns can have unexpected impacts on contribution rates and funding status As a long-term investor, CalPERS must consider risk factors, for example climate change and natural resource availability, that emerge slowly over long time periods, but could have a material impact on company or portfolio returns 9

10 What is the Evidence? Evidence of how sustainability can affect performance does exist; but we don t have the data across the ESG spectrum due to the lack of consistent reporting. CalPERS commissioned a comprehensive review in 2013 of the academic literature (700 papers) in this field through the Sustainable Investment Research Initiative (SIRI) led by UC Davis and Columbia. Good Evidence G has an impact on risk and return Early Days of Corporate Reporting Impact of E and S is inconsistent Example Academic at the London Business School, Elroy Dimson reviewed 10 years data provided by a global fund manager concludes that investor engagement on environmental and social issues leads to improved performance. (Dimson, Karakas and Li, Active Ownership available on the CalPERS governance website 10

11 Factors CalPERS is Looking For on Sustainability A growing number of companies are providing investors and stakeholders with information on sustainability factors. Today, information is not integrated with financial reporting, and we lack standards; therefore, CalPERS has made corporate reporting one of our five core issues in our strategy for governance reform. Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB): CalPERS actively supports SASB, a new initiative which is developing reporting standards, sector by sector, through working groups that comprise both investors and companies. Objective: Reporting standards on sustainability which are material, relevant, timely and ultimately subject to assurance (in parallel with auditing of the financial information). 11

12 Integrating ESG From Belief to Action CalPERS Focus List Program is a strategy employed to generate alpha through the engagement of portfolio companies on ESG factors. We identify companies in our U.S. portfolio that we believe are significantly underperforming on both stock returns and ESG factors. Strategy Improving financial performance on an investment over and against the market Process Screening, researching, engaging, catalyzing, and partnering Results Evidence of improved financial performance after being engaged on governance has become known as the CalPERS Effect Monetization Beginning in 2012, and as a result of the evidence, CalPERS initiated the monetization of its Focus List strategy 12

13 What is the Business Case for Integrating ESG? The business case is simple and compelling. Global megatrends driving the economy require company leaders to address sustainability resource scarcity, extreme weather events, social dislocation through global supply chains, labor disruptions, or the impact of drought and food shortages these are business issues. Old fashioned economics: long term value creation requires effective management of three forms of capital financial, physical and human. Companies ignore these issues at their peril. Our message is prosper or perish : companies that capture the potential of these global trends, and address the risks, are those which will thrive in the long term. 13

14 Corporate Engagement Carbon Asset Risk Initiative Example: Assessing the risk of portfolio company exposure to carbon assets Topic Board Oversight Forecasting GHG Emissions Capital Expenditure Impact of Climate Policy Physical Impact Human Capital Sample Questions How does the board exercise oversight over carbon asset risk throughout the organization? What are the potential GHG emissions associated with the production of all unproduced reserves categorized by resource type? What are the capital expenditure plans for finding and developing new reserves, including consideration of rates of return and payback periods and alternative uses of capital What are the risks to unproduced reserves, due to factors such as carbon pricing, pollution and efficiency standards, removal of subsidies and/or reduced demand What are the risks to assets, particularly oil and gas infrastructure, posed by the physical impacts of climate change, including extreme weather, water stress, and sea level rise What are the impacts of risks associated with climate policies and the physical impacts of climate change on the Company s current and projected workforce 14

15 Corporate Engagement Human Capital Management Initiative Example: Addressing financial, legal and reputational risk at portfolio companies. Topic Board Oversight Operational Integration Data Collection, Risk Management, Accountability Employee Engagement Incentives and Compensation Structure Investor Engagement and Disclosure Sample Questions How does the board exercise oversight over human capital management (HCM) throughout the organization? What resources are committed to managing human capital best practices not only through out he company s domestic and international operations, but also throughout the company s supply chain? What are the major challenges or risks for human capital management that the company has identified; and, how does the company mitigate these risks? What information is collected through employee outreach and engagement, and how is this information used to monitor or improve human capital management? How is human capital management aligned with incentive pay structures or other compensation practices? What data (and how), if any, is disclosed to investors pertaining to the company s risk assessment and management of human capital? 15

16 CalPERS website: View and download the full Investment Beliefs at: View and download Full Sustainable Investment Report at: or scan the QR code 16